Lily Wahinekapu went out the only way she knew how.

The Big West Player of the Year threw her team on her back in a game Hawaii appeared to have no realistic shot at in the fourth quarter, as the point guard scored 12 of her 18 points in the final 10 minutes of a season-ending 63-46 loss to UNLV in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament first round at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas on Thursday.

"We were down, and we just needed some buckets and ... some stops," Wahinekapu said afterward. "But obviously we weren't able to..."

What You Need To Know

  • The Hawaii women's basketball team saw its 2024-25 season come to an end with a 63-46 loss to UNLV in the WBIT first round on Thursday

  • Senior point guard Lily Wahinekapu tried to will her team back into the game with 12 of her 18 points scored in the fourth quarter

  • UH (22-10) struggled to establish its post players inside against the agile Lady Rebels (26-7) who will host Florida in the second round of the 32-team tournament

  • The Wahine dropped to 0-9 in postseason games in the 13-year Laura Beeman era, all true road games

Wahinekapu, an Iolani School graduate from Kaneohe, finished with 1,114 points in her three-year UH career, 18th in program history. She finished with three steals and two assists after turning it over four times in the early going.

UH coach Laura Beeman, sitting next to Wahinekapu at the WBIT postgame press conference, gave the senior a tribute.

"She's an amazing player. She's Player in the Year in the Big West for a reason," the coach said. "She's been a leader on our team. She's an amazing teammate. Celebrates her teammates, coaches. There are a lot of little girls in Hawaii right now that want to be Lily. And they have chosen a really, really good role model for that. She leaves it on the court every single night, and that's what you want. So she will definitely be missed, definitely not be forgotten. I've already offered her a job to come back and coach when she's done playing."

UH (22-10) scored the game's first eight points, but it was a desert mirage as it was held to 32.8% shooting overall while UNLV (26-7) converted 41.4%. UH dropped to 0-9 in postseason games in the 13-year Beeman era, with all of those true road games. The program's last postseason wins were in the 2001 WNIT under Vince Goo.

A third quarter that went 17-9 in favor of the Lady Rebels was critical with UH already trailing by seven at halftime.

Afterward, Beeman told a disappointed locker room to celebrate what they did this season, including a third Big West regular-season championship in four years and a 14-game winning streak.

UH got there despite losing a key piece from its past championships, forward Jacque David, for the whole season due to a medical disqualification. And last year's All-Big West first-team guard, Daejah Phillips, effectively left the team at midseason — one game into the 14-game winning streak — for undisclosed reasons. A freshman who saw action early, Danijela Kujovic, got hurt in December and did not return to the floor.

"We started this season with a very different roster than what we ended with, and we were able to overcome that adversity," Beeman said of her thoughts for the season.

Senior center Brooklyn Rewers added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench in her final career game. Mia ‘Uhila, a senior transfer from Portland State with roots on Maui, scored six points. Waiakea High graduate Kelsie Imai fouled out with five points, three rebounds and an assist in her final outing.

MeiLani McBee, the program’s career 3-point leader, went 0-for-5 from long range to finish her Wahine tenure with 208 makes, three ahead of former record-holder Amy Atwell, and a record 613 attempts.

McBee’s 140 career games played is a program record and Imai finishes second in that category at 136.

Wahinekapu said she was grateful for the opportunity to come home as a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, where she was the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2021-22. She got the opportunity to play nearly a full season with her younger sister, Jovi Lefotu, this season after Lefotu had to redshirt last year as she recovered from a knee injury.

Wahinekapu said of what she'd remember most, "Probably my teammates, the girls, I've created long relationships with them, and I'll probably be texting them wherever they go back home to their states, but yeah, just the connections I've made and the grit that this team has, we never give up. We stick together, and you always try to find the way no matter what."

The game embodied much of the season, as offensively challenged UH kept itself around with its defense. But the Wahine struggled to establish their three-headed post beast inside against the agile Rebels as Rewers, Imani Perez and Ritorya Tamilo were forced to shoot from the perimeter.

UNLV crushed UH on the glass, 47-26.

Beeman credited UNLV coach Lindy La Rocque, who has guided UNLV to four straight Mountain West regular-season titles.

"I think with the length that UNLV has, the speed, it's really difficult," Beeman said of establishing her posts. "You have very, very small windows to get the ball into. Post players have to be able to post up, hold seals in an area that that makes sense for them when they get the ball."

Forward Meadow Roland scored 16 points for the Lady Rebels and guard Amarachi Kimpson added 14 for UH’s former Big West and WAC rival and expected future Mountain West opponent. Forward McKinna Brackens grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, including four of her team’s 13 at the offensive end.

UNLV advanced to host Florida in the WBIT second round on Sunday.

Note: This story was updated with details and quotes.

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.